Today Sam McCaig of The Hockey News ranked his top 10 Stanley Cup contenders at this point of the season. McCaig ranks the Bruins third, he says, despite, he writes, that fact that they’re “wobbling.” He points to defenseman Zdeno Chara and the deep forward corps as keys that keep the Bruins in the mix.

McCaig ranks San Jose No. 1 and Detroit second.

MK: I’d flip Detroit and San Jose just based on past postseason performance and the experience edge that goes the Red Wings’ way. But I agree that Boston is still the top contender from the East, and I’m shocked that McCaig avoided the temptations to rank New Jersey higher. After all, that bandwagon has been filling for weeks. Listing Montreal 10th and ignoring the resurgent Pittsburgh Penguins is a bit odd as well. Any team with two of the top five players in the game and a talent like Marc-Andre Fleury in goal has be considered.